A suture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first barb portion, a second barb portion, and a center portion which connects the first barb portion and the second barb portion to each other. Each of end portions of the first barb portion and the second barb portion may be formed so as to face the center portion, and a hole portion including a plurality of holes may be formed in at least one of the first barb portion, the second barb portion, and the center portion. The suture may show an excellent recovery and a lifting effect to be semi-permanently maintained and may have an excellent strength.

Disclosed is an implant intended to be introduced into a human or animal body cavity, and includes two walls intended to grip between them a biological protuberance present in the cavity in order to attach the implant to the biological protuberance. Each wall includes a structural element having corrugations such that the structural element is folded up on itself several times, enabling the wall to be folded up before the introduction of the implant, then deployed inside the cavity.

The present invention is directed to suturing systems having a needle, an elongated flexible suture having a connecting end attached to a said needle and an opposing free end and at least one elongated external beneficial filament that is attached to said needle or attached to said suture at the connecting end. The beneficial filament has a smaller cross-sectional area and lower mechanical strength than the suture and contains a medicant.

Compressible adjuncts for use with a staple cartridge are provided. In one exemplary embodiment, the compressible adjunct includes a non-fibrous adjunct material formed of at least one fused bioabsorbable polymer. The adjunct material is configured to be releasably retained on a staple cartridge and is configured to be delivered to tissue by deployment of staples in the cartridge The adjunct material includes a lattice macrostructure having at least one drug contained therein. The lattice macrostructure is formed of a plurality of unit cells, in which each unit cell is configured to eject a predetermined amount of drug from the adjunct material and the predetermined amount of the drug being a function of a compression profile of the respective unit cell.

A tissue defect closure system includes an endoscopic surgical fixation device and an implant. The endoscopic surgical fixation device includes a handle assembly and an elongated outer tube having a distal end and including a plurality of fasteners disposed therein. The implant includes an elongated hollow body having a proximal end and a distal end, and defines an elongated pocket therein. The elongated pocket is dimensioned to engage the elongated outer tube of the endoscopic surgical fixation device.

A surgical fastening instrument includes an elongate shaft extending from a handle. An end effector is coupled to one end of the elongate shaft. The end effector has a first jaw with retainer strips disposed thereon. Each retainer strip includes rows of receptacles and each receptacle has a passageway leading to a chamber formed in the first jaw. The end effector also includes a second jaw with fastener strips disposed thereon. The first jaw is pivotally coupled to the second jaw. Each fastener strip includes rows of fasteners and each fastener is slidably positioned on a lance extending from a surface of the second jaw. The lances are aligned with the receptacles and each fastener has barbs configured to be retained in one of the chambers.

Methods and devices for performing minimally invasive procedures useful for Fallopian tube diagnostics are disclosed. In at least one embodiment, the proximal os of the Fallopian tube is accessed via an intrauterine approach; an introducer catheter is advanced to cannulate and form a fluid tight seal with the proximal os of the Fallopian tube; a second catheter inside the introducer catheter is provided to track the length of the Fallopian tube and out into the abdominal cavity; a balloon at the end of the second catheter is inflated and the second catheter is retracted until the balloon seals the distal os of the Fallopian tube; irrigation is performed substantially over the length of the Fallopian tube; and the irrigation fluid is recovered for cytology or cell analysis.

A device is described. The device includes a suture guide and a tissue retracting surface to enable accurate and safe delivery of sutures through tissue.

A bio-compatible and bio-resorbable implantable device for repairing soft tissue which has a first plate and a second plate and a plurality of connecting elements for connecting the first and second plates is provided. The first plate has a first surface suitable for being placed on a first side of the soft tissue. The second plate has a second surface suitable for being placed on a second side of the soft tissue. Each connecting element has a first portion integral with the first plate and a second portion integral with the second plate. The connecting elements extend from at least one of the first surface of the first plate and the second surface of the second plate to reach the other one of the first surface of the first plate and second surface of the second plate for locking the first and second plates in a definable respective position.

Methods for treating tissue are provided. In one embodiment, an adjunct material, when secured to tissue, can receive at least one physiological element released from the tissue during healing progression of the tissue, and can exhibit first and second stiffnesses in compression that are approximately constant during first and second time periods from contact with the tissue, with the second stiffness decreasing with time as a function of at least one of oxidation, enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis, and change of pH resulting from interaction with the at least one physiological element. In another embodiment, the adjunct can receive a unit volume of fluid that causes first and second portions of the adjunct to expand according to first and second expansion behaviors that differ from one another to apply different pressures to the tissue.